In relation to the USA, the EU and Ukraine, negative assessments prevail among respondents, the share of which has increased slightly in recent months. Young people still treat these countries noticeably better. At the same time, more than half of the respondents believe that Russia still needs to establish relations with Western countries. Positive assessments prevail in relation to China and Iran. Respondents consider Belarus, China and India to be close friends of Russia, which has pushed Kazakhstan and Armenia, the United States, Great Britain and Germany are the most hostile, the perception of the latter as unfriendly has increased significantly over the past year.
Publications
Memorable Events of May
In May, the events related to the capture of Bakhmut (Artemovsk) and other events related to the “special operation” were the most mentioned, 32% of respondents named them in total. The importance of this topic has grown over the past month. In addition, in May, respondents talked about explosions and sabotage on Russian territory and May holidays.
Conflict with Ukraine: Estimates of May 2023
The level of attention to the Ukrainian events and support for the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have not changed much over the past month. Against the background of the capture of Bakhmut (Artemovsk) by Russian troops, the share of respondents who support the continuation of hostilities has increased – their number has slightly exceeded the number of supporters of peace negotiations for the first time since August of last year. More than half of the respondents believe that the “special operation” is progressing successfully. The prevailing opinion is that military operations will drag on for another six months or longer, and confidence in this has been steadily increasing over the past year.
Approval of Institutions, Ratings of Politicians: May 2023
In May, as in the last few months, the assessments of the activities of the main public authorities have not changed significantly, the level of approval remains high. The majority of respondents still believe that things are going in the right direction in the country. The trust of the main public and state also has not changed much, while Yevgeny Prigozhin got into the top ten for the first time.
Memorable Events of April
The most mentioned events in April are those related to the “special operation” (17%), while the share of such responses continues to decline: in March 2022, 75% of respondents remembered it, in April — 63%, in May — 42%, in July — 32%, in August — 34%., in September — 35%, in October – 36%, in November – 47%, in December – 30%, in January 2023 – 31%, in February – 25%, in March – 19%. In addition, in April, respondents talked about holidays (8%), the fall of a bomb on Belgorod, various natural phenomena, and the murder of military commander Vladlen Tatarsky (3% each).
Public opinion about the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky and the fear of terrorist attacks
75% of respondents know about the explosion in a St. Petersburg cafe, which killed war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. Most of the respondents believe that Ukrainian special services, Ukrainian nationalists or Western special services are behind this. At the same time, Tatarsky’s murder did not lead to a surge of fears among respondents to be a victim of terrorist attacks themselves.
Religious beliefs
72% of respondents consider themselves Orthodox, 18% either do not consider themselves to be of any religion, or are atheists. 40% say that religion plays an important role in their lives, 45% consider themselves religious people – their share has decreased slightly over the year. One tenth of the respondents attend religious services at least once a month.
Army: partial mobilization, electronic army draft, compensations to the participants of the Special Military Operation and conscription service
The majority of respondents believe that a new wave of mobilization will be announced in the next 3 months. More than half of the respondents are not ready to pay an additional 1-2 thousand rubles for army maintenance. Half support raising the upper threshold of military age. Most of the respondents are aware of the changes in the law on military service, the prevailing feelings in this regard are negative.
Conversations with friends and discussion of Ukrainian events
Most often, respondents talk to friends about routine matters: children, work and household. One in five likes to talk about politics. At the same time, about half of the respondents discuss the topic of the “special operation” with their family and friends. However, most are not ready to engage in conversations about this with strangers. This is similar to how respondents discuss other socio-political topics.
Conflict with Ukraine: Assessments for March 2023
In March, there was a slight decrease in attention to the events in Ukraine and support for the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, while support remains high. In addition, compared to last fall, there is a decrease in the proportion of those who fear the announcement of general mobilization. About half of the respondents still support the transition to peace talks, and almost the same number support the continuation of hostilities.